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"These ads performed very well, especially with younger women, who did not react as strongly to Apple's more feature-focused ads from earlier in the year," said Mr. Daboll in a statement accompanying the new results. "Celebrity ads are risky, as many celebrities can be polarizing. In these latest ads, Apple has chosen wisely, using celebrities with broad appeal."

Earlier this week, Ad Age critiqued the ads as casting the iPhone and Siri as tools of the elite, a "rare misstep" and "horribly out of touch with modern consumer culture." The ads star two well-paid celebrities coping with the concerns and ennui of the 1%: Mr. Jackson searching for "organic mushrooms for my risotto" (he later graciously gives his assistant Siri the night off) and a bored Ms. Deschanel hearing rain and asking, "Is it raining?"

As Mr. Steinberg said, that tone clashes with some of Apple's most successful messaging, which celebrate its users as iconoclasts willing to rise up against corporate hegemony.

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In this article:

Michael Learmonth

Michael covers the intersection of technology, media and marketing, including Google, Facebook, Twitter and AOL. He edits the Digital section of AdAge.com and oversees editions of Ad Age's Digital Conference in New York and San Francisco. He joined Advertising Age in 2008 after working at Silicon Alley Insider, Variety, Reuters and The Industry Standard.